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This is for anybody from Perth, Western Australia…there will be a festival next weekend (1st March, 2014) celebrating all things cruelty-free in life. There will be vegan food, kids’ activities, entertainment etc. It takes place from 10.00a.m.- 4.00p.m. at Princess May Park in Freo. For more info, click the link above.

This is a very interesting video of recent findings from peer-reviewed scientific journals. Presented by Dr. Michael Greger, he delivers the presentation with a healthy dose of humour. He should be a stand-up comedian. Highly recommended viewing.

In the movie “The Matrix” Keanu Reeve’s character, Neo, is offered a choice of taking either a red pill or a blue pill by Laurence Fishburne’s character, Morpheus. Telling Neo “This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.”

Since becoming vegan, it kind’ve feels like I have taken the red pill. If you tell people, for instance, that in the process of making milk, any male calves (known as bobby calves) born are taken from their mother before they can even drink their mother’s milk, they are killed shortly after and sold as veal. That they are basically a by-product of the dairy industry. Then most people will cringe and say “Don’t tell me about it, I don’t want to know”, they will continue on obliviously, consuming milk, cream and cheese, unwittingly supporting this heartless practice.

I have to admit I was a ‘mindless’ eater for a long time, never really knowing what went into bringing a hamburger, an icecream or an omelette to my plate. It was only through receiving regular emails from Animals Australia that I started to be made aware of the barbarism involved in animal farming. I also watched a speech by Gary Yourofsky on Youtube called ‘Why Vegan?” , the speech is outstanding, but a warning, there is video footage of animal cruelty that is very hard to take and I mean very hard. But, this is perhaps the whole point of this post. If you are determined to remain a meat eater, then you should be aware of the consequences of your actions and of the torture involved in the meat industry. So don’t be shy, watch the whole video. It may change your life for the better. And, just maybe, the animals’ suffering won’t be totally in vain.

My hope for people who are not vegan, who may read this blog, is for them to at least consider the facts. Learn a bit about where your food comes from and the cruelty or otherwise involved in processing it. To just eat unconsciously is why this world is in the mess it is in today, the meat and dairy industry is said to be responsible for about 51% of the world’s greenhouse gases. I can recommend some great reading material, such books as: The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, The World Peace Diet by Dr. Will Tuttle, Skinny Bitch / Skinny Bastard by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or anything by John Robbins, such as Diet for a New America. If you read just one of these books, make it The China Study, it is the most comprehensive study of human dietary habits in the world and the figures don’t lie. Meat increases your risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer and of course morbid obesity.

I have now been vegan for one year. Do I miss the taste of bacon, turkey or chicken? Yes, i sometimes do. Will I ever eat meat again? Hell no!!! After reading some of the books listed above and seeing the excellent documentary “Forks over Knives” I realised just how bad meat and dairy is for your health. I encourage you, my friend, to take the ‘red pill’. Start by educating yourself about the inhumanity inherent in the meat and dairy industries and learn about the health benefits of a plant-based, whole foods way of life. The change may be hard at first, but you will not regret it.

Calling all fruit munchers! There is a big get-together of vegans in Thailand happening from July 1st – July 14th this year. It is taking place in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It has been organised by some Youtube vegan ‘gurus’ namely the legendary “Durianrider”, “Freelee” and “Dman” along with some other people. The plan is for everybody to meet up at:

these guys are planning to organise a bunch of fruit venders to be in the large carpark area everyday.

It is free entry, you just need to organise your own flights, accommodation and pay for any fruit, drinks etc. They have a Facebook page with over 4000 members. Last time I checked, about a month ago, over 300 people had committed to going to the Festival. People are welcome to attend for as many days as they choose…1 day or the whole 14 days. It probably is not so much of a Festival as a big vegan get-together. People are volunteering to give classes in yoga, meditation, fitness etc. So it is very health-based. Some people are shipping their bicycles with them so they can explore Chiang Mai more fully, although there are bicycle hire places in the city of Chiang Mai.

I have been to Chiang Mai 4 or 5 times, I love the place and can vouch for it being a very vegan-friendly city, with lots of vegan cafe’s, restaurants and a huge fruit market. The food prices are incredibly cheap also. The thai people are lovely and Chiang Mai is an amazing place, with mountain areas to explore, along with an elephant nature park that lets the elephants form natural herds and roam freely.

If you need more details either sign up on the facebook page (ThaiFruitFest) or contact Dman, Durianrider or Freelee on their Youtube channel pages.

I hope to see you all there, I have to confess that I am not a huge fruit eater, I am more of a “Starch Solution‘ guy at the moment, but this is too good an opportunity to miss out on meeting fellow plant-based eaters. It should be fantastic.

When my brother first told me that aspartame (Nutrasweet) was dangerous and that so called ‘diet’ drinks could cause cancer and other diseases, I was like “Yeah sure, whatever” not really believing that ‘the authorities’ would allow something so dangerous to be so widely available.

He kept on preaching to me and I kept on ignoring it, until I realised that a lady that I used to work with was going through cancer treatment at the time and the odd thing was she used to drink lots and lots of Diet Coke. She used to buy it by the carton and keep the carton under her desk, so she could always have some available. That really got me thinking, maybe there was something in this after all. I mentioned to big bro that maybe he was right and he eventually lent me a copy of this documentary. It really is quite worrying, when you see some of the facts presented in it. For example, Donald Rumsfeld had some influence in getting it approved for human consumption by the US FDA, I never have trusted that guy.

There was a justified outrage a few years ago, when some Aussie tourists on holiday in Bali had tried a local drink known as Jungle Juice and had been taken ill, in fact, if I recall correctly, one person had died and another had gone temporarily blind. After a police investigation, it was found that the drinks had contained Methanol (wood alcohol). The thing is, Aspartame contains this very same poison, maybe in smaller amounts but it can’t be good for you, surely.

If you search the internet, there are differing opinions to the safety or otherwise of aspartame. Some experts say it is completely safe for human consumption and the hysteria surrounding it is all just a big fat hoax, others say the threat is very real. I have no medical expertise whatsoever, I’m just a regular guy with an interest in health and to my way of thinking aspartame is not a naturally-occurring substance and therefore I am steering clear of it. Give me water or fruit juice any day.

This is a very snappy,(mostly) upbeat British documentary about the many benefits that come from a vegan diet, it also touches on the animal cruelty aspects involved in meat and dairy production. It runs for about 30 minutes.

Will Tuttle Live in Australia & New Zealand

Are you concerned about our culture’s mistreatment of humans, other animals, and the Earth?

Dr Will Tuttle reveals crucial and empowering information that has been, until now, almost completely concealed. His best-selling book, The World Peace Diet, has been heralded as the harbinger of a new world where peace, freedom, wellness, and harmony are actually possible, and in it, he elucidates the hidden keys to positive individual and social transformation.

Will Tuttle will be presenting the ideas from his book to audiences in cities and towns across Australia and New Zealand in February 2014. Please see below for the full schedule.

The World Peace Diet

What is so simple as eating an apple? And yet, what could be more sacred or profound? Food is our most intimate and telling connection both with the natural order and with our cultural heritage. But it is increasingly clear that the choices we make about food today are leading to environmental degradation, enormous human health problems, and unimaginable cruelty toward our fellow creatures.

The World Peace Diet presents the outlines of a more empowering understanding of our world, based on comprehending the far-reaching implications of our food choices. Incorporating systems theory, teachings from mythology and religion, and the human sciences, Will Tuttle offers a set of universal principles for all people of conscience, from any religious tradition, that show how we as a species can move our consciousness forward – allowing us to become more free, more intelligent, more loving, and happier in the choices we make.

About the author

Will Tuttle has a master’s degree in humanities from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in the philosophy of education from the University of California, Berkeley. A professional pianist, composer, and teacher, he has for the last fifteen years presented at progressive churches, vegetarian and human potential conferences, and intentional communities throughout the country. He trained in Korea as a Zen Buddhist monk and has worked extensively in Tai Chi, yoga, meditation, intuition development, and spiritual healing. He lives in Healdsburg, California.

Book your tickets now!

You can buy tickets for Dr Will Tuttle’s presentations in Australia and New Zealand by clicking on your location below. This will take you to our booking site where you can purchase your tickets. Unless otherwise noted ticket prices are:

“If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” -Gandhi

I’ve always been a fussy eater. As a kid, I’d often eat weetbix or cornflakes for dinner (eat your heart out Jerry Seinfeld), going through phases whereI’d eat the same meal for dinner for weeks at a time..sometimes having fried spam and eggs for weeks, other times having baked beans on toast. But, the thing that I rarely ate in my youth was fruit and vegetables. You could say it is a typically English thing, I can only remember ever eating apples, potatoes and a few carrots in my meals from time to time. It is surprising that I wasn’t sick as a kid.

I was skinny as a rake up until about age 24, I guess eating a sausage roll, a meat pie and a cream donut for morning tea every morning will eventually take it’s toll on a person’s weight. I was raised as a meat -eater and would always look forward to a sunday roast. But, every so often would find myself halfway through eating a piece of meat and, seemingly out of nowhere, would feel a sense of guilt. This was once a living creature, what right did I have to be eating it? I had a lot of trouble swallowing the meat, once the ‘guilts’ kicked in.

I have always had an interest in animal welfare, I remember buying a “Ban Live Animal Exports’ t shirt about 20 years ago. After seeing a documentary about the charity organisation Animals Australia I became a member, receiving regular emails about animal welfare issues in Australia. One of these emails blew me away, it told the story of Bobby calves, I’d never heard of them and, stupidly, didn’t even think about the process it takes to get milk from a cow. I never thought about the fact the cow is forcibly impregnated and when the calf is born, if it is a male, it is dragged away from it’s mother without ever drinking it’s mother’s milk. The calf is then kept alive for about one week, then slaughtered to make veal. A so-called byproduct of the milking process. This made my gut churn.

Around the same time as receiving this email, I was visiting my best friend, Lee in Sydney and we decided to go to a vegetarian restaurant named Govindas , it was an all-you-can-eat, buffet meal set up and the food was delicious. I remember remarking to Lee that I could actually live off this food, it was filling and tasty and there was no need for meat. On the way out we picked up some leaflets to do with Hare Krishna philosophies, particularly to do with animals and their mistreatment for the purposes of the meat industry. I was saddened by what I read.

When I returned to Perth, I resolved to go vegetarian. That was in February, 2013. I lasted about a week, maybe two before I decided to go the whole way and become a vegan. It was tough at first, not really knowing what to eat and cook and I am still learning everyday but I am proud to say I have not eaten any meat at all since then. It’s hard to explain but, I feel a lot lighter in my body, it’s like the meat used to sit in my gut and weigh me down. The thing with going vegan is you can be vegan and live off coca cola and potato chips ( even then you need to check the ingredients cos they use milk products in a lot of potato chip flavours) so it is not necessarily healthier unless you cut out or reduce greatly, all oils and salt. This has been my problem and as a result I have not actually lost much weight as yet. But one thing that has changed, I used to get these little pains in my chest above my heart from time to time, usually after I had eaten a lot of fatty foods like bacon. Since going vegan I have not had any chest pains whatsoever.

I have read numerous books, seen some interesting documentaries and listened to some great audiobooks in the past year that have all reinforced my belief that a vegan diet is the right way to go. In coming posts I will let you know about anything I think you may find beneficial, if you too are considering the way of the vegan (sounds a bit like a Bruce Lee movie). To finish up, I can honestly say that there is no turning back from this road I am on. i could never see a time where I would eat any animal products ever again and I feel good about that. As AC/DC might say “I’m on the High-waaay to Healthhh!!! And my cholesterol is going down……all the wayyyyyy!!!”